CLEVELAND — Illegal, dangerous and potentially deadly. Law enforcement agencies are cracking down on a little piece of metal or plastic that makes a handgun even more dangerous.
“A Glock switch is a small device; it’s about the size of, I’d say, a thumbnail. It’s inserted into the back of a semi-automatic firearm, usually a Glock, and it renders that semi-automatic firearm fully automatic,” said Ryan Bokoch, supervisor of the Crime Strategies Unit at the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office.
We reported local and federal officials' concerns about Glock switches or machine gun conversion devices two years ago.
RELATED: New device turns semi-automatic weapons into automatic, raises concerns for local police
“It makes the firearm even more lethal,” said Suzanne Dabkowski, the public information officer with the ATF Columbus Division.
A handgun equipped with one of these devices can, officials said, fire off dozens of rounds in just seconds with one trigger pull. There has been a rapid rise in these types of devices.
“The last two years we’ve started seeing them; you heard about them first and now we see them all the time. Most major search warrants that are done investigating shooters in the community, they’re finding these types of Glock switches,” said Bokoch.
It’s not just in Cuyahoga County or Cleveland.
“The numbers have increased drastically over the last several years,” said Dabkowski. She said it is illegal to own one of these devices under any circumstances.
Now, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office is cracking down and sending a message that they will not tolerate the use of these devices.
“There is a mandatory 6-year firearm specification that can be placed on that. It takes the discretion out of the judge’s hands,” explained Bokoch.
The six years is in addition to the original charge added Bokoch.
“We want the community to know that these crimes are taken very seriously and if you are out there and thinking about possessing one of these, we want you to know ahead of time and not find out when you get your indictment paper how severe these consequences are,” Bokoch said.
According to the ATF, these devices are prohibited from being sold in the United States.
“The two main routes that we see are either ordering things on the internet that come from overseas or manufacturing themselves,” said Dabkowski. “Not only can you fire more bullets, but you have less control over where the bullets end up, meaning that innocent bystanders, people on the street who have nothing to do with whatever this dispute is are going to be injured or killed.”
